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De Bruyne began his career with hometown club KVV Drongen in 2003. Two years later, he joined Gent and moved to Genk in 2005. De Bruyne continued his development in their youth set-up and was rewarded for his progress by being promoted to the first team squad in 2008.

De Bruyne made his first team debut for Genk in a 3–0 defeat at Charleroi on 9 May 2009.[15] Having established himself in the team the following season,[16] on 7 February 2010, De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club, which secured all three points for Genk in a 1–0 win against Standard Liège.[17] He scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010–11 season as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time.[18] On 29 October 2011, De Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge, which ended in a 5–4 win for Genk.[19] On 28 January 2012, De Bruyne scored a brace against OH Leuven in a 5–0 win. On 18 February 2012, De Bruyne scored his first goal back at Genk following his agreed transfer to Chelsea and also assisted the other goal in a 1–2 away win against Mons. De Bruyne ended the season by wrapping up the scoring in a 3–1 victory over Gent. He finished the league campaign with eight goals from 28 appearances.[16]

On 31 January 2012, on the winter transfer deadline day, Premier League club Chelsea and Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumoured to be in the region of £7 million.[20] He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but would stay at Genk for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. De Bruyne told the club website, "To come to a team like Chelsea is a dream but now I have to work hard to achieve the level that's necessary."[21][22] On 18 July 2012, De Bruyne made his debut for Chelsea in a friendly match against Major League Soccer (MLS) side Seattle Sounders FC in a 4–2 win. De Bruyne also played the first half against Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain at Yankee Stadium, New York.

On 2 August 2012, Chelsea announced that De Bruyne was to join Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on a season-long loan deal after having successfully completed a medical.[23] De Bruyne scored his first goal for Bremen in a 3–2 defeat to Hannover 96 on 15 September, netting from 11 yards out after being played in by Eljero Elia.[24][25] De Bruyne continued his good form, scoring in Bremen's next game, a 2–2 draw with VfB Stuttgart, on 23 September.[26][27] De Bruyne got back on the score sheet on 18 November, scoring the winning goal — despite his team being down to 10 men — as Bremen came from a goal down to defeat Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1.[28][29]

De Bruyne scored his first goal in over two months on 4 May 2013, since netting a consolation goal in Bayern Munich's 6–1 hammering of Bremen, putting his side up 2–0 at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before a late brace from Sven Schipplock meant that the game finished 2–2.[30][31] He followed this up with a goal in Bremen's next match, securing a place in the Bundesliga for the next season with a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on 11 May.[32][33]

After a successful loan spell in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, De Bruyne was linked with a move to stay in Germany with either Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen. Incoming manager José Mourinho, however, assured De Bruyne he was a part of Chelsea's plan for the future, and the player officially returned to Chelsea on 1 July 2013.[34]

De Bruyne injured a knee while scoring his first goal for Chelsea, in a pre-season friendly game against a Malaysia XI,[35] but was fit to make his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2013–14 Premier League season against Hull City, and made an assist for the first goal in a 2–0 win.[36]

De Bruyne scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season on 2 October 2014, volleying in a clearance from outside the box to salvage a 1–1 draw against Lille in the Europa League.[41] In the third group match away to Krasnodar on 23 October, De Bruyne scored twice as Wolfsburg secured their first win in the competition with a 4–2 victory.[42] On 30 January 2015, he scored another brace in a 4–1 home win against Bayern Munich, their first Bundesliga defeat since April 2014.[43] On 1 March 2015, De Bruyne assisted three goals in a 5–3 win over his former club Werder Bremen.[44]

On 12 March 2015, De Bruyne scored two goals in a 3–1 first-leg Europa League round-of-16 victory over Internazionale.[45] On 15 March 2015, he scored one goal and assisted another two in 3–0 victory over SC Freiburg.[46]

In August, De Bruyne, in the midst of transfer speculation, insisted that he would not force Wolfsburg to sell him, but admitted that he could not ignore interest from Manchester City, saying: "If an offer does come, I will hear about it and how much it is, but I have not yet heard anything... I would not go to England just to prove that I can play there. I do not have to go to England... If I go there it’s because for me and for my family it is a good choice. That’s the key for me."[52]

On 10 August, it was reported that Manchester City had made a second bid for De Bruyne worth £47 million. Wolfsburg sporting director, Klaus Allofs, stated that the club would fight to keep him, saying "I think some other clubs have definitely turned Kevin’s head... Some huge figures are doing the rounds and I can understand why Kevin is leaving everything open."[53]

On 27 August, it was reported that Manchester City had made a bid for De Bruyne worth £58 million. Klaus Allofs said that City had made an "astonishing" wage offer to De Bruyne.[54]

On 2 October, De Bruyne was announced as one of the players on the longlist for the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or award, alongside such teammates as Sergio Agüero and Yaya Touré.[62] Just 18 days later, on 20 October he was revealed by FIFA as one of the players on the 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or.[63] On 21 October, De Bruyne scored an injury-time winner against Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League, to take City within one point of group leaders Juventus, with three games remaining.[64] On 1 December, he scored a brace in a 4–1 win over Hull City to send Manchester City through to the semi-finals of the Football League Cup.[65]

On 27 January 2016, De Bruyne scored a goal in a League Cup semi-final 3–1 victory over Everton, but sustained an injury to his right knee that would keep him out of the team for two months.[66] On 2 April, De Bruyne made his return from injury in a 4–0 win against Bournemouth at Dean Court, scoring the team's second goal in the twelfth minute.[67] Four days later, he scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg at the Parc des Princes.[68] On 12 April, De Bruyne scored the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain, advancing Manchester to the Champions League semi-finals, for the first time in the club’s history, on an aggregate score of 3–2. Writing in The Independent, Mark Ogden said, "It was a stunning goal from the Belgian, who took a touch to control the ball before curling it beyond Kevin Trapp from the edge of the penalty area."[69] De Bruyne's next goal came on 8 May 2016 in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal, although the result left City's Champions League qualification hopes out of their own hands.[70]

"I think he is a special, outstanding player. He makes everything. Without the ball he is the first fighter, and with the ball he is clear – he sees absolutely everything."

—Pep Guardiola on 17 September 2016 describing De Bruyne after his brilliant performances for City[71]

On 10 September 2016, De Bruyne scored and assisted in the first Manchester derby of the season which City won 2–1 and was awarded the Man of the Match.[72] On 17 September 2016, De Bruyne was awarded the Man of the Match, in a 4–0 win over Bournemouth. De Bruyne scored the first, assisted the fourth, and provided key passes on both the second and third goals.[73] After the international break, Manchester City drew their next game, against Everton, played on 15 October 2016 with the scoreline finishing at 1–1. Agüero and De Bruyne both missed their penalties while Nolito came off the bench to equalise for City.[74] On 1 November, De Bruyne scored from a free kick in the team's 3–1 win over FC Barcelona.[75] On 21 January 2017, De Bruyne was involved in both of City's goals, as he netted once himself and also assisted Leroy Sané's, in a 2–2 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur; he was subsequently named Man of the Match.[76] On 19 March 2017, De Bruyne displayed an excellent performance in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, where he set up a goal for Agüero.[77]

On 15 August 2018, De Bruyne suffered a knee injury during a training session, with several news websites reporting that he could potentially not play for up to three months.[109] Two days later, Manchester City confirmed that he had suffered a lesion of the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, with no surgery required, and that he was expected to not play for three months.[110][111][112] Soon after De Bruyne returned to action in October 2018, he once again suffered a knee ligament injury in the 4th round of the Carabao Cup against Fulham. The injury was expected to keep him out for 5–6 weeks[113] but he resumed full training much earlier than expected after only 3 weeks out.[114] He came on as substitute in the FA Cup final against Watford, scoring the third goal and assisting two more, as City won the first-ever domestic treble in English men's football[115][116]. His performances meant he was named Man of the Match.[116]

Before making his full debut for Belgium's senior side, De Bruyne was eligible to play for Burundi, his mother's birthplace.[118]

De Bruyne became a regular member of Belgium's team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, where he scored four goals as the Red Devils qualified for their first major tournament in 12 years.[119]

Considered to be a versatile and highly talented player in the media, De Bruyne plays mainly as a central or an attacking midfielder but can also operate in several other positions, and has been used as a winger or second striker; he has even been deployed in a deeper box-to-box role. He is often described by pundits as one of the best and most complete modern day advanced playmakers, due to his technique, skill, athleticism, work-rate off the ball, vision, wide range of passing, and powerful long-range shooting ability with either foot.[140][141][142][143][144] Although he is not blessed with significant physical strength, pace, or ability in the air,[145] he is a quick and elegant player on the ball, with good dribbling skills, while his positional sense, tactical intelligence, movement, direct style of play, and ability to run at defences when in possession also enable him to take advantage of spaces in the opposition's defence, and subsequently create chances and goalscoring opportunities for himself or his teammates, making him a dangerous offensive threat on counter-attacks.[145][146][147][148] In addition to his creative abilities,[145] he is also capable of scoring goals by making late runs off the ball from behind into the penalty area,[149] and is an accurate set-piece taker.[145][150]

Since 2014, De Bruyne has been in a relationship with Michèle Lacroix,[156] who announced on 28 September 2015 that she was pregnant with the couple's son.[157] Mason Milian De Bruyne was born on 10 March 2016.[158] Their second son, Rome De Bruyne, was born on 31 October 2018.[159] De Bruyne and Lacroix married in June 2017.[160]

His autobiography, entitled Keep It Simple, was published by Borgerhoff & Lamberigts in October 2014.[161]

De Bruyne was an ambassador for the 2014 Special Olympics, which took place in Antwerp and was involved in a controversial advertisement campaign, via his personal Instagram account. Employing the slogan (in Dutch): "Would you still be my fan if I looked like this?", De Bruyne was depicted resembling a person with Down syndrome.[162]